cows

Cows Like to go Round & Round By Ronda Payne For some reason, cows enjoy rotating milkers. No one really knows why, but cows are just more relaxed going round and round. Taking the concept of the rotating milker a step further, a relatively new product has come to …

Getting the most out of manure Cate Pedersen Farmers are responsible for the safe disposal of the manure from their animals and much of it is treated on site and redistributed on the land. The current system is expensive, time consuming, loses much of the valuable nutrients and puts a …

A Free-Stall Base Comparison Kaitlyn Gisler Consumers are demanding that the milk they drink is from comfortable and well-cared for cows. Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) has launched the proAction initiative in response to concerned consumers. This initiative presents farmers with a means to evaluate their operations and retain control …

Anyone who works in the dairy industry will be aware that there is tremendous variation in maternity pen design. Part of the reason for this variability is a lack of research on what types of environments are best for the cow while she is giving birth. Research at UBC has …

Mechanical Milkers: The cream of the crop By Jörg M. Unger There is neither shouting nor calling in the barn. Just one of the waiting cows is mooing and some muted music can be heard from a radio in the distance. Calmness and silence have priority in the cow house. …

Julaine Treur Since announcing our plans to transition to organic farming nearly three years ago, my husband and I have heard many assumptions about this type of farming. When talking about our plans, it wasn’t uncommon to hear these types of responses: “The only difference between conventional and organic farming …

This past fall I booked my plane ticket, shouldered my backpack and jetted off to Europe. My first stop was Switzerland, “a small but very beautiful country,” a Swiss local told me as we landed in Zurich. It truly is. This postcard-perfect region has unmistakeable European flair: from the houses, …

Milk in the tank means a well-earned cheque in the bank for Canadian dairy farmers. The value of milk—even the smallest drop—is continually on the increase. New technologies can decipher a wealth of information never available before by sampling a dairy cow’s milk, on farm, the moment it’s taken from …